Pop Goes Pop
}} With their leader down, Tarquin pulls the Linear Guild back with the help of some 1st edition lore. Cast * Roy Greenhilt ◀ ▶ * Belkar Bitterleaf ◀ ▶ * Durkon Thundershield ◀ ▶ * The Linear Guild ** Nale ◀ ▶ ** Tarquin ◀ ▶ ** Kilkil ◀ ▶ ** Zz'dtri ◀ ▶ * Soul-Muncher ◀ ▶ Transcript Nale: OK, SCREW THIS! DIMENSION DOOR! The spell fails, "fizzle!" Belkar: WHAT ABOUT THE DAMN MANSION WHORES? Belkar stabs Nale. Belkar: GEEZ, YOUR OLD LADY'S ONLY BEEN GONE FOR 18 SECONDS! Belkar: KEEP IT IN YOUR PANTS UNTIL AFTER THE BATTLE. Nale: Nnnnnh! Tarquin: Hmmm, Nale stopped trying to hear himself speak. He must have been knocked out. Belkar performs a jumping attack. Belkar: ELAN, IS IT COOL IF I KILL YOUR BROTHER WHAT CAN'T HEAR YOUR ANSWER SORRY! Tarquin blocks Belkar's coup de grace by throwing Soul-Muncher at him, "whumwhumwhumwhum'KTHUNK!"'' Tarquin picks up Nale. '''Tarquin: It seems that for once, your tactical insight was right on the money. Tarquin: The smoke may be clearing, but retreat is our best option. Belkar: HELLO, ROY? I THINK THEY'RE GETTING AWAY! Durkon: Och, stop shoutin'! I've got a splittin' headache! Tarquin carries Nale over to Zz'dtri and Kilkil. Tarquin: Luckily for us, I'm well-versed in Drow sign language. Tarquin: You're too young to remember, but it was quite the fad in its day—right after all that arcana was first unearthed. Tarquin (signing): Get us out of here. Tarquin (signing): Bring my accountant. Tarquin: You couldn't swing a bec de corbin without hitting a curvy dark elf maiden back then. Tarquin: They were completely unbalanced—in all the best ways! Roy: Durkon! They're going to teleport! Can you lock them down? Durkon: Nay, lad—V usually has tha spell. Roy: Then charge, and don't stop 'til your hammer hits drow! Tarquin: This one time, I thought I was using the hand sign for "drinking fountain," but it turned out I was actually asking if I could— Tarquin: Well, suffice to say that it ended up as a fine evening for everyone. Zz'tri touches Kilkil and Tarquin who is still carrying Nale. Zz'dtri: Teleport. The Linear Guild disappears with a "POP!" just before the charging Roy can reach them. D&D Context * Gary Gygax's 1985 AD&D (1st edition) Unearthed Arcana included an extensive section on the nomenclature of pole arms (most of which had been previously published in Dragon magazine). A bec de corbin is a type of polearm, a two-handed martial weapon. The supplement also introduced Dark Elves (Drow) as a playable character race (previously they had only been evil NPCs). Thus Tarquin's quip about bec de corbins and dark elves was a reference to this expansion of the rules. * Teleport is a 5th level spell which allows instantaneous travel over arbitrary distances within the same plane of existence with some chance of error in arriving where intended. Trivia * This is chronologically the last appearance of Soul-Muncher, Tarquin's intelligent magical axe. It will appear only once more in a flashback in #864. Tarquin's decision to use it as a ranged weapon to save Nale leads to its loss. External Links * 862}} View the comic * 254327}} View the discussion thread Category:Uses Teleport Category:Exploring Windy Canyon and Girard's Pyramid